Babysitter charged with stealing from Rehoboth family

REHOBOTH - A Rhode Island woman admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from a Rehoboth home where she worked as a nanny, Rehoboth police said.

Michelle O'Kane, 22, of 6 Baker St., Bristol, Rhode Island, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of Larceny over $250, Police said. She was arraigned Thursday in Taunton District Court and released on personal recognizance.

On Tuesday at about 6:45 p.m. police responded to a report of $3,000 to $4,000 in cash being stolen from a home on Gorham Street in Rehoboth earlier that day, police said.

The male victim told police that typically he keeps around $3,000 to $4,000 of cash in a watch box in a wardrobe drawer located in his bedroom, in order to pay for the nanny and other expenses, according to the police report.

But when he went to take some money that day the money and box were missing from the drawer, according to the police report.

The victim told police that the only two people that had been in the house were the cleaning lady and the nanny, later identified as O'Kane.

The victim told police that he believed O'Kane had taken the money.

The victim told police O'Kane was previously employed as a coach at Prestige Gymnastics in Swansea where there were complaints of money missing from the business during the time she worked there, according to the police report.

The victim also recalled that O'Kane had said she had lost three rings in their house that she wore regularly and said were valued at $10,000, according to the police report.

But she told the man that she was not concerned because she had them insured, according to the report.

The next day, Wednesday, O'Kane went back to the house after the victims reported the alleged theft and attempted to return the stolen money, police said.

When police arrived, O'Kane admitted to taking the money while she was babysitting on Tuesday, police said.

O'Kane said she took the money because one night at Prestige Gymnastics a man came up behind her in the parking lot and told her that there was money in the wardrobe of the house, according to the police report.

She went on to say that the man didn't want any of the money but was just telling her where it was, according to the police report.

O'Kane removed $2,594 from her purse and handed it to the officer.

O'Kane appeared to be extremely apolgetic and remorseful, the officer stated in the Rehoboth police report.